Hi there,

Can you imagine a world where we don’t need a single patient to run a clinical trial?

It’s not that far away.

In silico trials simulate the effects of a new treatment using virtual populations with the goal of supplementing or even partially replacing human testing.

Here are 3 ways that in silico technology can help:

1. Study design. Researchers can use modeling and simulation to predict trial outcomes before advancing to real-world clinical trials and ultimately design studies that are more likely to succeed.
2. Diversity. Virtual populations can diversify the biological variability of traditional trials and enable exploration of irregular phenotypes that would be difficult to recruit for.
3. No placebo. Control or placebo arms in trials can be simulated so that real-life patients who need treatment are guaranteed to receive it.

You can dive into this topic in this free report on 12 tech trends to watch in 2022.

In silico clinical trials sound exciting…but how can pharma companies get there?

That’s where we come in.
 

Clinical trials playbook

Pharma companies (sponsors) and contract research organizations (investigators) are shifting more of their R&D budgets toward emerging technologies that can improve the quality and cost of clinical trials. 

We made an adoption playbook for the clinical trials domain by evaluating 8 tech markets — from digital twins to remote patient monitoring — that sponsors and investigators should consider. 

Clients can view the report here.
 

J&J’s digital transformation

Johnson & Johnson is the most valuable pharmaceutical company in the world, with a market cap of over $450B. 

Over the last 2 years, J&J has forged dozens of strategic partnerships, invested in over 50 different companies, and made a handful of acquisitions.

What is the pharma giant up to?

We uncovered the 6 most important strategic priorities for J&J, from consumer health to digital therapeutics. 

Unbundling Illumina
 

Illumina’s sequencing business is at risk.
 

Genetic sequencing is becoming commoditized as costs continue a 20-year downward trajectory. 
 

Increasingly, value creation in genomics comes from the analysis and utilization of vast amounts of genomic data (as opposed to creation of the data).

Funding to startups providing genomic analysis software and tools reached a record high of $8.6B in 2021.
 

We took a look at how startups are unbundling Illumina, from molecular diagnostics to agrigenomics to reproductive health, and more. Clients can read it here.
 

Is Amazon a healthcare company?

We asked you which of the big tech companies would have the biggest impact on healthcare in 2022. 

Over 40% of you chose Amazon — with good reason.

The retail and tech giant has accelerated its healthcare partnerships, investments, and acquisitions in recent years.

The company also has multiple healthcare business units, from Amazon Care to Amazon Pharmacy to Amazon Diagnostics.

But what is the strategy here exactly?

Clients can click here to find out.
 

Stay healthy,

Kedar Karkare, PhD

P.S. Thank you to Nicole and Adya for your help compiling the newsletter this week! 
 

P.P.S. Are you looking for the best place to write data-driven healthcare research? We are hiring for a senior analyst on our healthcare team.

The big tech in healthcare report: How Facebook, Apple, Microsoft, Google, & Amazon are battling for the $8.3T market. We look at how Facebook, Apple, Microsoft, Google, and Amazon are looking to establish a permanent place for themselves in healthcare through new product launches, partnerships, M&A deals, and more. Read it here. 
 

[Client research] Musculoskeletal digital therapeutics for healthcare payers — ESP Vendor Matrix. This report uses the CB Insights Execution & Market Strength Positioning (ESP) Matrix to analyze vendors that deliver musculoskeletal digital therapeutics for healthcare payers. Read it here. 
 

[Client research] Tech Market Map report — Digital therapeutics in healthcare. This report looks at the digital therapeutic companies serving the healthcare industry. Read it here.
 

[Client research] Diabetes digital therapeutics for healthcare payers — ESP Vendor Matrix. This report uses the CB Insights Execution & Market Strength Positioning (ESP) Matrix to analyze vendors that deliver diabetes digital therapeutics for healthcare payers. Read it here.
 

[Client research] Tech Market Map report — Clinical trials in healthcare. This report looks at the clinical trials tech companies serving pharmaceutical companies and CROs. Read it here.

NEWS
 

VR for mental health. Otsuka Pharmaceutical and medical VR developer Jolly Good teamed up to create a virtual reality solution for behavioral therapy in a $43.7M deal. With the help of Otsuka, Jolly Good will provide VR goggles, tablets, and content geared toward social skills training to healthcare facilities in Japan.

MobiHealthNews
 

Clinical trials at CVS. Virtual clinical trials platform Medable partnered with CVS Health to expand access to clinical trials. Using Medable's clinical trial software, CVS Health will leverage its client base to engage MinuteClinic patients in advancing research.

Fierce Healthcare
 

mRNA in a pill. MIT researchers developed a capsule as an alternative to injectable mRNA vaccines. The oral delivery technology also aims to target gastrointestinal diseases with mRNA therapeutics.

Medgadget
 

AI-based chronic care. Digital therapeutics startup Biofourmis expanded its product offering beyond acute and post-acute care to include chronic care management. The company launched an AI-driven specialty virtual care program to manage medications and remotely monitor patients with complex chronic conditions.

Fierce Healthcare

DEALS
 

Biotech launch. Seismic Therapeutic launched with a $101M Series A financing led by Lightspeed Venture Partners. The company integrates machine learning with drug discovery to accelerate immunology drug development. The funds will support preclinical development for 2 main autoimmune programs. 
 

Prior authorization money. Digital prior authorization company PriorAuthNow raised a $25M Series C round led by Insight Partners. The new funds will help the startup build out its team and grow its client base.
 

Canexia x Imagia. Imagia Cybernetics and Canexia Health will merge to improve access to community-level precision oncology. Imagia’s technology preserves cancer healthcare data privacy, while Canexia offers cancer testing, treatment, and monitoring.
 

Infectious funding. Infectious disease diagnostics startup Day Zero Diagnostics closed a $21M Series B round led by Sands Capital. The company’s tech combines genome sequencing and machine learning to diagnose infections from blood samples.
 

Thirty Madison and Nurx to merge. Telehealth unicorn Thirty Madison is set to acquire women’s health startup Nurx to expand its product offerings across a broader range of conditions.

PERSPECTIVES

Pop health horizons. Population health management as a concept has been around for a while, but the shift to value-based care is accelerating its adoption. Greg Silence — executive vice president and co-founder of healthcare tech company AssureCare — talks about the advances in technology driving a new era of population health management.

Healthcare IT News
 

The future of mental health tech. Digital mental health tools – including digital phenotyping and natural language processing – promise to transform care, but can they live up to their potential? This article discusses the challenges digital health companies must address — from engagement to quality of care — to improve outcomes in mental health.  

STAT News